HWM+HardwareZone.com Editor's Choice Tech Awards 2010 - Part 2

Editor's Choice Tech Awards - Consumer Electronics

By now, you should have seen our Reader's Choice Tech Awards and the first installment of our Editor's Choice Tech Awards. The second part of our Editor's Choice shifts to consumer electronics, those gadgets and devices that we are loathe to live without nowadays. Here are our picks for the best consumer devices in 2009, starting with digital cameras:

Best Semi-Pro DSLR Camera

For the Semi-Pro DSLR category, we restricted our scope to offerings in the S$3000 price range that weren't full-frame, yet offered higher-end functions like HD video recording. Of course the products should also be launched and available in our test window period between December 2008 and November 2009.

Nominees

• Canon EOS 7D
• Nikon D300s

And the Winner is

The Canon EOS 7D is one compelling camera for the photography enthusiast, with its fast eight frames per second continuous shooting speed, flexible AF, impressive low-noise performance at high ISO settings and large 18MP-sized photos. That fast continuous shooting speed is a real draw for sports photography enthusiasts who don't need to shoot full-frame or have a tighter budget.

The 7D is also an attractive offer for videographers, offering Full HD 1080p video capture at an affordable price. The small body of the 7D compared to a larger, more expensive and heavier professional HD camcorder lets the videographer shoot more flexibly and travel lighter. Plus the large range of available DSLR lenses gives more options to shoot with.

The solid, weather-sealed build ensures that this is one camera you can confidently bring with you where you want to go, and the well-placed controls makes shooting with this camera a pleasure. From all angles, the Canon EOS 7D is a sure winner.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Entry-Level DSLR Camera

For our entry-level DSLR category, we were looking at models that offer beginners an easy introduction to photography while providing decent performance and features. At the same time, the prices have to be reasonable, without having them to break a sweat over the cost.

Nominees

• Nikon D3000
• Olympus E-450
• Sony Alpha 330

And the Winner is

While it might be the heaviest out of the three, the Sony Alpha 330 looks, well, the tackiest, given its predominantly plastic build. However, it compensates by being the most user-friendly. Aside from the standard interface, it comes with illustrations (for example, the range of available shutter speed is represented at the slow end with a stationary figure, while the fast end is depicted with a running figure which makes it easy for beginners), with elaborate explanations to boot.

It is also the only one with a cool tilting LCD screen that accommodates shooting at difficult levels and has a built-in sensor shift that changes accordingly depending on whether you are shooting in portrait or landscape.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Point & Shoot Digital Camera

With so many different models and specifications for point & shoot digital cameras, we narrowed it down to similar-sized compacts around the S$500 price range that can shoot at around 12MP resolutions and had a maximum of 5x optical zoom.

Nominees

• Canon IXUS 120 IS
• Nikon COOLPIX S70
• Olympus Mju 7020
• Panasonic Lumix FX65
• Samsung ST550
• Sony Cyber-shot WX1

And the Winner is

The Panasonic FX65 shoots beautiful pictures, with rich, lively colors, with an appealing retrospective design and a fast, responsive shutter. The auto-focus system is one of the best we've used on a compact point and shoot. It's great at finding the right points of focus and locating and tracking faces. It handles like a charm with its intelligent features, a powerful image stabilizer and comfortable buttons, making it easy for anyone to simply point and shoot. In the end, it's easy to choose the Panasonic FX65 as the deserving winners for this category.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Digital Video Camcorder

When looking for the best digital camcorder, we selected and evaluated the highest-end models of the major brands that could do 1080p HD video recording.

Nominees

• Canon LEGRIA HF S11
• JVC Everio GZ-HD320
• Panasonic HDC-HS300
• Samsung HMX-H105
• Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1
• Sony Handycam HDR-XR520

And the Winner is

The LEGRIA HF S11 is the newest flagship HD camcorder from Canon and an evolutionary upgrade to the HF S10. It adds double the internal memory at 64GB, a new Dynamic Image Optical Stabilizer and Instant AF, while keeping the same large 1/2.6" sensor and form factor.

Image quality from photos and videos is excellent with the HF S11 and its larger sensor - the largest yet found in Canon camcorders. The new image stabilizer also adds a dash more stability to your shots. Audio capture is sharp and the HF S11 separates background noise well.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Portable Business Projectors

We looked at entry-level multimedia projectors that were in the S$2000, 3000 lumens, 1024 x 768 resolution range, with similar sizes and weight around 3kg that could still be ported around.

Nominees

• Canon LV7370
• Epson EB-825
• InFocus IN3104
• NEC NP610
• Viewsonic PJD6241

And the Winner is

The NEC NP610 performs beautifully; as a strong multimedia projector, it does double-duty for stills and moving images. Its presentations are sharp; it projects a large, bright screen that can be seen even with the lights on. Movies are clear and onboard sound is a surprising delight - loud and vibrant.

Where you might have to depend on external speakers in the past, the NP610 lets you share a multimedia presentation in the boardroom with just one device. Like most NEC projectors, the NP610 comes in a clean, white body that will be loved by minimalists everywhere. The controls are conveniently arranged and easy to use too.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best LED-backlit LCD TV

Before the 3D craze sweeping TV vendors recently, the buzz in the HDTV scene was with LED-backlit TVs. As opposed to conventional CCFL backlit screens, LED-backlit LCD TVs have the luxury of being slimmer, cooler and more energy efficient, but with a higher price tag due to its more demanding manufacturing costs. Two of the more notable LED backlit technologies are Direct and EDGE LED backlights.

However it's only recently that TV manufacturers have found a way to incorporate local dimming with EDGE LED technology. For our roundup, we managed to pick all three known types, Direct, EDGE, and the more recent EDGE LEDs with local dimming, for our Tech Awards nominees. We restricted the TV size in this comparison to mid-sized screens between 40 to 46 inches across as identical screen sizes were not available from all brands.

Nominees

• LG SL90 (42-inch)
• Philips LED LUX (42-inch)
• Samsung B7000 (40-inch)
• Sony BRAVIA X4500 (46-inch)

And the Winner is

Sony's BRAVIA X4500 isn't much for looks and features. What matters though, is that Sony has thrown all of its weight into the TV's video processing. Powered by direct RGB Dynamic LED lights with local dimming capabilities and blessed with a new DRC-MF V3 chip, the X4500's panel shone on both Blu-ray and DVD platforms. The X4500's black levels and crispness runs above and unparalleled among the four. Based on what our eyes have seen, you can't really question this exemplary Full HD display.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Blu-ray Player

The Sony PS3 console is widely regarded as a one-size-fits-all solution for HD gaming and Blu-ray playback but AV enthusiasts would prefer to own a dedicated Blu-ray deck if gaming isn't their forte.

Besides evaluating their high-definition processing muscle, we've also set these players through the paces to see how well they upscale DVD content on a 1080p screen. Supplementary features like widgets are nice to have, but our eyes are still hawked on their visual capabilities ultimately. For this comparison, we optes

Nominees

• LG BD370
• Panasonic DMP-BD60
• Philips BDP7500
• Pioneer BDP-120
• Samsung BD-P1600
• Sony BDP-S360

And the Winner is

We didn't expect LG's BD370 to snatch this. However, quality shouldn't be denied its fruits. This Korean deck doesn't flaunt the sweetest design, yet it won us over with its set of features like a YouTube app, comprehensive multimedia support and easy usability. Comparatively, its video processing capabilities were only second to Sony's. All things considered, LG has produced a winner with the BD370 in the features department as well as overall BD and DVD performance arena.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best HD Media Player

In this category, we selected and tested the most versatile multimedia HD players capable of 720 and 1080p HD playback from the various major vendors.

Nominees

• DViCO TViX M-6600N HD Media Player
• Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD Media Player
• QNAP NMP1000 HD Media Player
• Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player
• Western Digital TV Live HD Media Player

And the Winner is

The Western Digital TV Live HD Media Player wins due to its small form factor that does not compromise on connectivity options and quality. It has support for both component and composite AV out, dual USB ports (for flash drives and external HDDs), optical, HDMI and Ethernet. From the menu, it allows users to Copy, Move and Delete files, with options to view YouTube videos (full screen), tag and search recently uploaded photos on Flickr, listen to music from Live365.com as well as Pandora Internet Radio. Though it lacks a Seek (Go To) option and fast forward is only up to 16x (norm is up to 32x), it more than makes up for it with its portability.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Mainstream Notebook

Intel's new Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processor based platform looks set to be a fast growing market - with notebooks weighing in at well under 2kg while delivering whole day usage at affordable prices being a draw for consumers. We take a look at the various 13-inch models to see which unit is worth your consideration and cash.

Nominees

• Acer Timeline 3810t
• Dell Inspiron 13z
• HP Pavilion DM3
• Lenovo IdeaPad U350
• LG T380
• MSI X-Slim X340
• Toshiba Portege T130

And the Winner is

It's no wonder why the Acer Timeline 3810t tops our list for this category, thanks to its impressive design and build, coupled with hardware that's different from the rest with the inclusion of switchable discrete graphics. Unlike the other Intel CULV notebooks that rely on the integrated graphics, you're quite capable doing light 3D gaming on the Acer unit and the discrete option does help with a better performance score in our benchmark tests.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best 10-inch Netbook

Unless you've been living under a rock for months, netbooks have been quite the rage among consumers looking for a cheap machine to use on the go. So the question is, which 10-inch netbook is deserving of your hard earned cash?

Nominees

• Acer Aspire One D250
• ASUS Eee PC 1008HA
• Fujitsu M2010
• Gigabyte Book Top M1022M
• HP Mini 110
• Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2
• LG X120
• MSI Wind U123H
• Samsung N120
• Toshiba NB200

And the Winner is

We were quite as surprised as you by the results as we were expecting a winner from the more established netbook brands. LG may not be well known for its computing products, but its LG X120 strikes the right chord with its delightful design and solid performance. Tag on the LG Smart ON function and an option for built-in 3G modem and it should be no surprise why the LG X120 takes the top spot.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Smartphone

The nominees for the Best Smartphone award are selected based on one simple consideration: the ability to do it all. The selection process also includes a look at the nominees' hardware and software features, its ease of usage and its mobile mileage.

Nominees

• Apple iPhone 3GS
• HTC Hero
• Nokia N97
• RIM BlackBerry Storm
• Samsung Omnia HD
• LG BL40 Chocolate

And the Winner is

Armed with the standard hardware features seen on most smartphones of today, the iPhone 3GS is also equipped with an updated iPhone OS 3.0 and improved HSDPA speeds. The real show stopper is its intuitive user interface and multitude of apps from the iTunes App Store. It's not just the phone; it's the whole accompanying package that made this Apple device the best smartphone of 2009.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Camera Mobile Phone

Even mobile phones are not spared the megapixel race. For this year's Tech Awards, we shortlisted the following devices sporting 8-megapixel and 12-megapixel sensors, with a wide variety of imaging feature such as Smile Detection and Image Stabilizer to contend for the title of the Best Camera mobile phone.

Nominees

• LG Viewty Smart
• Nokia N86
• Samsung Pixon 12
• Sony Ericsson Satio

And the Winner is

Getting great shots from a camera phone isn't exactly an easy task, and that's where the Samsung Pixon 12 managed to excel with its 12-megapixel sensor and TouchWiz user interface. The Pixon 12 proved to be a smooth and swift experience for the user. More importantly, producing sharp and detailed images and having great color control gave the Pixon 12 the edge, making it the undisputed leader in the camera phone segment.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best Lifestyle Mobile Phone

A mobile phone is somewhat an identity that you carry, so it's imperative that you have the best looking mobile phone to match your fashion sense. The Best Lifestyle Mobile Phone is short listed based on its aesthetic appeal, with a balanced mix of features that still makes it undeniably a practical mobile device.

Nominees

• Apple iPhone 3GS
• HTC Tattoo
• LG GD900 Crystal
• Nokia E72
• Samsung Jet S8000
• Sony Ericsson Jalou

And the Winner is

The Nokia E72 inherits all the beauty and sleekness of its predecessor, and manages to keep its performance up to par. The feather light and eye-catching device doesn't scrimp on its performance either, with faster HSDPA speeds, increased processing power and better multimedia support with its 3.5mm audio port. In short, it's possible to look good and do everything from your phone, making the Nokia E72 the perfect choice for the fashion conscious, and the winner for Best Lifestyle Mobile Phone.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best In-ear Headphones

In-ear headphones are plentiful these days and this is mostly due to their superb ability to passively attenuate surrounding noise. This allows users to enjoy their music with the least distraction possible. With this in mind, we take a look at some of the popular headphones in the S$100 - $200 range.

This mid-range price range was chosen because headphones that fall into this category generally provide the greatest improvements over 'stock' headphones that are provided by manufacturers. Of course, we could go all out and get the best of the line in-ear headphones, but those models are generally too high-end for mainstream consumption because they require portable headphones amplifier to bring out their best.

Nominees

• Altec Lansing Backbeat 906
• Audio Technica ATH-CKS70
• Sennheiser CX 550 Style II
• Shure SE 115
• Sony MDR-EX300SL
• Ultimate Ears Super Fi 4

And the Winner is

While audio is undoubtedly a subjective thing, our pick of the lot has got to be the silky smooth Sennheiser CX 550 Style II. It excels at everything you wish for in a pair of in-ear headphones - style, fit and audio performance. Brushed aluminum trimmings give the headphones a modern touch, while the provided silicon tips are comfortable, yet they isolate noise well. From an audio standpoint, we found little wrong with the Sennheiser as it handled everything we threw at it with equal aplomb, be it dance, pop or jazz.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best GPS Device

In the past, a street directory was a must-have accessory in every driver's glove compartment; today, it is being replaced by a GPS device. Given Singapore's modest size, you probably won't need a GPS for everywhere you go, but for moments when you find yourself completely lost and disorientated, it's a lifesaver.

GPS devices today come in all shapes and sizes, and are more than just mere pathfinders, with some offering Bluetooth handsfree calling, and even video playback. Hence, we have handpicked the finest three devices from popular brands Garmin, Holux and Shinco to see which is the best GPS device on the market today.

Nominees

• Garmin nuvi 765
• Holux 6210T
• Shinco GM-5180BEE

And the Winner is

To be honest, none of the GPS devices were perfect, as each had its share of minor quirks. For the Garmin nuvi 765, it was worryingly unreliable and erratic when it came to searching for locations - there were instances when it could not find our desired destination while the other two could. The Shinco GM-5180BEE, on the other hand, provided decent performance, but had a clumsy interface and an unresponsive touchscreen.

Of the trio, the Holux 6210T was the most well balanced. Its voice commands might be a tad confusing, and it doesn't speak street names like the other two, but free live traffic updates is a distinguishing feature plus its search function was the most powerful of the lot, thanks to its rich database of POIs. For purely navigational purposes, the Holux 6210T is our pick of the crop.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

Best 4-Bay NAS Device

Networked storage solutions are a necessity for any business with a foot in today's digital business landscape, though the high cost of buying and maintaining standalone storage servers has been a major stumbling block. NAS devices have stepped in to fill that gap with affordable solutions that not only offer excellent performance and value for money, but also low maintenance and easy administration - a boon for small business that want the security of redundant storage without having to pay through the nose.

Nominees

• Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d
• QNAP TS-439 Pro Turbo
• Synology Disk Station DS 409+
• Thecus N4100 Pro

And the Winner is

The QNAP TS-439 Pro Turbo is fast and packs a load of features, yet easy enough to administer and comes with a great deal of flexibility in terms of usage i.e. surveillance, web server etc. Whether the geek with a penchant for the extreme, or a small business serious about their data, you can't go wrong with the QNAP TS-420 Pro Turbo. All the other nominees put up a solid fight, but QNAP's product was the most polished overall.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

References

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